If you're having trouble with getting better mixes, please don't think they'll magically improve with the next plug-in you'll buy.

You already have the plug-ins you need for a great mix. 

Let me tell you what they are:

EQ

You use EQ to give each instrument their space in the frequency spectrum. You carve out pockets for each instrument, and depending how much you've got going on in your mix you'll need to be more or less heavy-handed on the EQ.

Compression

Compression tightens up your mix, makes the elements sound "glued" together and adds an overall punchiness to everything you need. Using the various compression models you'll achieve different sounds depending on whether you're adding Opto, FET or VCA compression.

It's not only important to know how to tweak the attack/release, threshold and ratio. You also need to know which compressor model brings out the most flattering character of any of your tracks.

Reverb and Delay

If you've created a really nicely EQ'd mix full of punchiness and tight dynamics you'll be most of your way there. However, you'll end up with a fairly two-dimensional mix if you don't add any space to it.

That's where reverb and delay come in. Use delay to add a sense of depth without creating huge reverb tails that clutter up your mix. Conversely, use big reverbs to add huge sounds to your instrument.

Want to make you home-recorded guitar sound like it's in a cathedral because of that one part in the song where everything drops out?

No problem! Just add reverb.

Reverb and delay add so much character to a mix. You can give the same song to two different mixers and just their use of reverb can make each mix sound drastically different.

Saturation

Now, we get to the final ingredient of a great mix. The popularity of saturation and tape emulation plug-ins has surged in recent years because of the convincing sounds these plug-ins make.

You don't have to own a reel-to-reel machine to create that tape feel. You don't even need fancy premium plug-ins either. Just google "free saturation plug-ins" and you'll be on your way to adding some analog warmth to your tracks.

Saturation is kind of like a "secret sauce." You can never tell what kind of character it'll give your instruments without trying it and I've found that I always get something different when I'm playing along with the plug-ins. But usually, what I get is some nice dimension to my tracks, with the saturation bringing out some added character via the harmonic content it brings to the mix.

5 Plug-ins to a Great Mix

That's all you need for a great mix. As long as you use these five plug-ins effectively you'll be cranking out killer mixes in no time.

Of course, I'm not advocating you don't use any other plug-ins. I'm saying that as long as you master these five everything else will become easier.

So let help you get started by giving you a bunch of ideas on how to use these plug-ins on your next mix in my free webinar I'm doing with Lij Shaw of Recording Studio Rockstars.

We'll be live tomorrow and we already have a lot of you signed up already!

We're super excited about teaching you the tips and tricks behind using these plug-ins so if you haven't signed up yet, click here and claim your spot on the webinar.